Patient perspectives on barriers to optimal asthma control in Danish respiratory specialist practice

Although well-documented asthma treatments are available, many patients with asthma remain symptomatic, even when managed by respiratory specialists. We aimed to describe barriers to optimal asthma management in Danish respiratory specialist practice.

This was a qualitative study of 20 patients (mean age 37.6 years, six 40+ years; 17 women) with asthma from two specialist practices, with interviews conducted by phone.

Many patients were unaware of the timeline for their course of treatment or what it entailed to be a patient in a pulmonary clinic, including being uncertain about how many consultations they were entitled to, the agenda of the next appointment and what the exact goals of the treatment were. Patients expressed doubts regarding the dosage and effectiveness of their medication. Some questioned whether they were taking their medication correctly and whether it was acceptable to take additional doses. Patients reported that they occasionally forgot to take their medication because they had not established a consistent routine for it.

Barriers were often quite practical and simple, and can most likely be broken down by focusing on simple behavioural aspects rather than by providing more information.

This study was funded by Fonden for Faglig Udvikling i Speciallægepraksis, Danske Regioner.

Not relevant.